Health Problems Chronic Stress Brings

Headaches, fatigue, muscle tension, rapid heartbeat, upset stomach, insomnia, anxiety, low sex drive — anybody who is living a stressful life have experienced some or all of these at some point. These hostile symptoms can oftentimes be managed with the help of a few stress-busters, like having a bath, doing yoga, or getting a message.

Are you aware that there are much bigger issues that you have to be worried about aside from those that were previously mentioned above? This is mostly true if your stress is the uncontrolled kind!

Health Problems Chronic Stress Brings

Chronic stress is something that not only makes you feel terrible but can as well get you really sick sooner or later. According to many studies, unmanaged stress can worsen currently-existing medical problems, as well as bring about a lot of others. In other words, chronic stress can enlarge your risk of certain conditions and diseases.

And what are these health problems? Some of them include:

Heart Disease

It’s been long recognized that people who are stressed out all the time are at higher risk of problems concerning the heart. This doesn’t come as a shock since chronic stress can encourage cholesterol buildup and hypertension or high blood pressure, both of which can raise a person’s chance of having heart disease.

Health Problems Chronic Stress Brings

Diabetes

Medical experts say that there are several reasons why being stressed all the time can cause diabetes. Primary, chronic stress can in a straight line increase levels of sugar in the blood. Second, unmanaged stress can make a person resort to diabetes-causing habits, such as unhealthy diet and extreme alcohol intake.

GI Tract Problems

An upset stomach isn’t the only GI issue that stress can bring. If left unmanaged, stress is as well something that can make a person experience acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Medical experts state that it is very much probable for chronic stress to finally cause irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Depression

There is a study that revealed that people who have stressful jobs, such as jobs with high demand but offers few rewards, were at higher risk of depression. Other than depression, chronic stress can as well cause anxiety. Both depression and anxiety can make a person’s life even more stressful, leading to a vicious cycle.

Obesity

Being always stressed can make a person gain weight most particularly in the midsection, expert’s state. It is all because of cortisol, a hormone shaped by the body when it’s exposed to stress. The problem with cortisol is it promotes the build-up of fat in parts of the body a lot of us are already finding as problem areas: the belly and thighs.

Alzheimer’s Disease

In a study conducted in animals, stress speeded up the formation of lesions in the brain. This is why chronic stress is supposed to speed up the expansion of or worsen Alzheimer’s disease. Some studies suggest that controlling stress can in fact help in slowing down the progression of the said brain disorder.

Health Problems Chronic Stress Brings

Frequent Infections

Stress that isn’t controlled can cause the immune system to weaken. In other words, someone who lives

a stressful life and fails to control the stress levels is at higher risk of getting flu, a cold, or any other infection. Inflammation caused by chronic stress is as well something that renders a person’s immune system almost useless.

Early Death

Chronic stress can lead to early death. Such is exposed by a study done on the elderly who are looking after their spouses, which can be very stressful. The said study found out that elderly caregivers had a 63 percent higher death rate than those who are of the same age but were not looking after others.